What Katniss never knew
by Eshkimo-Kisses
Summary: When Katniss meets a little girl on the Victory Tour in District Two. Her views on the two most vicious Careers changes forever. Semi-Fluffy Clato One-shot. FIRST EVER STORY


**So this is my first fanfic, and was pumped out at like 1.30am while running basically no sleep and after a day at work. I also ship Clato massively. So if you aren't a fan. GTFO. Please leave a review and tell me what you think! **

District Two, was the worst of the lot. I knew that if Thresh had not come along. Cato and Clove would have been the ones to come home. They like Peeta and myself never would have rebelled. It wasn't in their nature. They lived for the games. that much was obvious. The dedication, the drive. Even the perfect way Clove threw her knives. When all of a sudden I felt a pulling at my skirt. I looked down and saw a small dark haired girl looking at me with large green eyes. I vaguely recognised her and realised with a jolt she was in the section that contained Clove's family. Her eyes, her hair, everything about her screamed 'Clove' except unlike Clove her eyes were soft, friendly and did not contain the bloodlust, manic glint, or the ice that Clove's eyes had. She tugged at my skirt again and told me in a soft sweet voice. 'I'm sorry Sissy tried to hurt you. Sometimes she just gets mad.. Mummy and Daddy don't like it when she fails..'

I looked at her confused, but she pressed on 'I get sad now she isn't here. But that's okay. Because I still have Mummy and Daddy to look after me. And Clove has Cato to look after her. She loves him you know. And he loved her too' she pauses and looks up at me innocently before giving me a small worn out leather book. 'I want you to have this. She gave it to me before she went away, Mummy said you do alot of travelling. Maybe if you see Clove you can give it back?' and then runs off before I can say no or give her the book back. I look around for her but can't find her in the crowd of people that suddenly seemed to expand. I quickly slip the small book into a concealed pocket in my gown and hope no-one has noticed anything.

Later that night when in the confines of the train carriage, I sit down and open the small book given to my Clove's sister, opening it up I realise it's a photo album.. Not a family one. But looking at the photo I see a small dark haired toddler holding hands with a somewhat larger blonde haired boy..

Looking more closely I realise it is Clove and Cato. Flipping through the pictures, they get older and older, some shots of just Clove, some of Cato. These aren't photographs but more intimate portraits displaying the soft sides of the otherwise ruthless careers.. There is Cato with a party hat on making cross-eyes, Clove jumping off a trampoline in a place I assume is the training centre, and more importantly Clove and Cato entwined in various embraces, holding hands, or even just gazing into each others eyes, or pulling silly faces. One aspect of every photo remains the same, they look at each other with undeniable love. The way Peeta looks at me. The way I try to imitate I look at Peeta.

Coming across one particular photo of a younger Clove lying on the grass, with Cato behind her applying some kind of lotion to her back, I remember the pain in Cato's voice when he saw her on the ground, the insane glint in his eye on the cornucopia, the whole monologue of desperation. Was Clove dying in his arms the final straw, the one thing that finally broke him? I flash back to the first night I saw him on the replays of the reapings when he lunged forward to volunteer, was he doing it, out of pride and self-absorbtion like I had originally assumed? Or had he volunteered like I had with Prim out of love? Just so he could save the girl he loved, even at the expense of his own life?

My heart breaks as I finally reach the last photo, someone else had clearly taken the photo as it was Clove on Cato's back with her head held back laughing while clinging onto him and Cato trying to turn his head to look at her with a genuine happy smile on his face. I wonder what Clove's laugh sounded like not the sadistic 'I'm going to kill you' laugh but the genuine teenage girl in love..

I close the book and realise why the two careers hated me. It wasn't due to my archery, or the flames in the tribute parade (well okay.. maybe it was a little..) but it was because Peeta and I had the luxury they didn't have. We had the luxury of love and we were the ones able to show it, unlike the true lovers whose own story had gone untold and hidden for the sake of pride/fear of being portrayed as weak.

My heart breaks thinking of what they would have had to have gone through, and how they reminded me of an old book we read in school once called Romeo and Juliet. A beautiful story yet ends in tragedy.

I know Cato and Clove are together somewhere, where ever that may be.

Opening up the bedside draw I see a small glint coming from the corner, and the gentle rattle of something rolling to the front, reaching in I realise it is a small silver ring, nothing fancy or even overly special until I take a look at it closely and realise there is a tiny sword and knife carved into the outside of the band and in the middle was a simple 'Cato&Clove'. The band is too small to fit on Cato's finger, so I'm assuming it is Clove's, I realise this must be her way of telling me she doesn't blame me for killing Cato, and that she understands. The thought comforts me, and makes me in a way feel closer to this strange, complex, and emotional girl I never knew.

I slip the ring into the album and hide it back in the drawer before curling up in bed and praying that tomorrow's District One ceremony wouldn't be as bad. Finally I wearily drift into an uneasy sleep but instead of dreaming of mutts, the arena, and other various terrors. I see a stretching green meadow with two figures in it. Cato and Clove. They aren't fighting, they hold no weapons. Just simply two teenagers in love who were taken before their time should have been up.

They won't ever grow old together. But I feel reassured that they will spend forever by each other's side.

Just like the rings promised.

_FINISHED KIDDIES! PLEASE REVIEW AND I WILL HAPPILY SEND YOU CLATO GIFS!_


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